Please use this topic to discuss the second of SpaceX's 12 contracted cargo flights to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) Program.

Robert PearlmanEditor

Posts: 27328From: Houston, TXRegistered: Nov 1999

posted 02-14-2013 04:12 PM
For those interested in attending the launch and who are active in social media...

NASA is inviting 50 social media users to apply for credentials for the launch. Social media users selected to attend will be given the same access as journalists. All social media accreditation applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Registration for social media accreditation is open online. International social media users without U.S. citizenship must apply for credentials by 5 p.m. EST Friday, Feb. 15, to qualify. For U.S. social media, the deadline to apply is 5 p.m. EST Friday, Feb. 22.

For more information about NASA social media accreditation requirements and to register, click here.

RonpurMember

Posts: 211From: Brandon, FlRegistered: May 2012

posted 02-14-2013 04:56 PM
Great news!! This really snuck up on me, I had not seen anything about an upcoming launch. I haven't even heard about what the cause of the engine failure on the last Dragon launch was.

Robert PearlmanEditor

Posts: 27328From: Houston, TXRegistered: Nov 1999

posted 02-14-2013 05:13 PM
The cause of the engine failure on CRS-1 has not been pinpointed, as Florida Today reported last month.

"As is often the case with a failure like this on a system you don't get back, it was hard to find a specific smoking gun to point to, but a number of things were believed to be contributors that have been looked at," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's ISS program manager.

It seems that a "significant amount" of pre-flight testing may have led to the failure, which is not an issue for the Merlin engines installed for CRS-2.

The engines flying on the next Falcon 9 are new and have not been tested beyond what is required to certify them for flight, and have all undergone recent inspections.

Zach121kMember

Posts: 55From: Fenton, Missouri, USARegistered: Feb 2013

posted 02-25-2013 09:27 AM
Today is the static fire of the Falcon 9. Does anyone know when it is, and if it will be broadcast?

Robert PearlmanEditor

Posts: 27328From: Houston, TXRegistered: Nov 1999

posted 02-25-2013 09:35 AM
The static test fire is planned for this afternoon; the time has not been announced.

The Falcon was rolled out to the pad this morning and is currently standing vertical at Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

On edit: Spaceflight Now has reported a targeted T-0 of 1:30 pm EST (1830 GMT).

Zach121kMember

Posts: 55From: Fenton, Missouri, USARegistered: Feb 2013

posted 02-25-2013 12:32 PM
I can confirm based on the feed, that ignition successfully occurred, followed by shutdown two seconds later.

Robert PearlmanEditor

Posts: 27328From: Houston, TXRegistered: Nov 1999

posted 02-25-2013 12:50 PM
A friend in the SpaceX control room tweeted:

There was rocket flame and things seemed to go well. Hopefully this means that we're ready to roll for Friday.

Robert PearlmanEditor

Posts: 27328From: Houston, TXRegistered: Nov 1999

posted 03-01-2013 09:51 AM
The Falcon 9 lifted off as scheduled at 10:10 a.m. EST (1510 GMT) and placed NASA's second-contracted Dragon into orbit. An anomaly however, has affected the spacecraft's ability to maneuver.

One thruster pod is running. Two are preferred to take the next step which is to deploy the solar arrays. We are working to bring up the other two in order to plan the next series of burns to get to station.